Japan is serious about its unique Christmas traditions. Here’s how they came about

It may not be a public holiday in Japan, but Christmas is big business there.

Quirky seasonal customs take place in people’s homes across the country, while town squares host elaborate Christmas displays.

So how does Japan actually celebrate Christmas?

And why in such a secular, non-Western country has it become a popular holiday?

KFC and sponge cake

Fried chicken was marketed by KFC Japan as the perfect Christmas food in the 1970s – and it stuck.

Urban legend, perpetuated by KFC, held that Westerners unable to buy turkey in Japan settled for Kentucky Fried Chicken instead.

“Since a 1974 ad campaign called ‘Kentucky for Christmas,’ many Japanese have lined up outside KFC,” said Sydney woman Nozomi Ohike, who grew up in Japan.

KFC Japan estimates that 3 to 4 million families eat its chicken for Christmas each year.

The run-up to December 25 has become the company’s biggest sales week.

Melbourne-based wedding planner Aya Otsuki Nichols grew up celebrating Christmas with her family in the city of Okayama.

Nichols said it made sense to eat fried chicken for Christmas since most Japanese people didn’t have ovens to roast turkey, pork or other meats.

And many people book KFC buckets four to six weeks before Christmas, she said.

The other important food item associated with Christmas in Japan is cake.

Not the dense, alcohol-infused fruitcakes popular in the West, but rather light sponge cakes festively decorated with strawberries and whipped cream.

A tradition that began in the early 20th century and gained widespread popularity after World War II, the red and white color palette of the cakes is reminiscent of the Japanese flag.

Since emojis were first used in Japan, the Japanese Christmas cake even has two emojis dedicated to it.

Originally from Tokyo, Ayaka Fujita runs a cake shop on the Sunshine Coast.

As a child, Ms Fujita ate strawberry cake “every year” at Christmas – a tradition kept alive in Queensland, where she sometimes brings Japanese-style cake to her Australian family’s gatherings.

“Everyone who grew up in Japan, on Christmas day we always have strawberry shortcake,” she said.

“It is not a religious day for us … on the morning of the 25th we always have gifts.

“Food and cakes are usually on the night of the 24th.”

The Origins of Japanese Christmas

Christianity first arrived in Japan in the 16th century, when Portuguese Catholic missionaries arrived in the archipelago.

Its followers soon faced severe persecution, and Christianity would be banned for about 250 years.

From the late 19th century, however, Japan’s department stores began importing ornaments and decorations, explained the University of Queensland’s Dr. Natsuko Akagawa, who grew up celebrating Christmas in the city of Kobe.

Today, there are less than 2 million Christians in Japan, accounting for just over 1 percent of the population – and Japan is known for being one of the least religious countries on earth.

A Gallup poll conducted in 2022 found that only 20 percent of Japanese people said they believed in god, the lowest of any country surveyed.

Christmas is thus very much a secular event, more associated with Santa Claus and reindeer than the birth of Jesus Christ.

When Ms. Nichols was a child, her mother would buy chicken Maryland with teriyaki sauce from the supermarket and Santa would deliver gifts to her kindergarten classmates.

But she said she didn’t fully understand the Christian origins of the holiday until now.

“Japanese people celebrate anything,” Ms. Nichols said.

Christmas is for lovers

The nativity story may not be prominent, but Christmas in Japan is still associated with hope and love.

For many young people, it has become the equivalent of Valentine’s Day.

As the snow falls and the Christmas lights illuminate the city squares, singles rush to be paired up for dates and book fancy hotels for Christmas Eve.

“You wouldn’t want to be seen eating alone,” said Sally Mizoshiri, a Japanese language teacher in Sydney whose husband is from Japan.

“Young, single people would hope to be taken out on Christmas Eve by someone.”

But this was slowly changing, Mizoshiri said, explaining that young people were challenging the long-standing stigma around doing activities alone.

When Mrs Nichols and her Australian husband Wayne started dating, she prepared a perfect Japanese Christmas spread.

He was “shocked” when presented with KFC chicken, strawberry shortcake and a poinsettia – red-leaved plants often used in Japanese Christmas displays.

“Australian Christmas is like Japanese New Year – family time, the longest holiday,” Ms Nichols said.

Yes, Japan’s most important holiday is New Year.

It is a time when the hardworking country shuts down for three whole days to spend time with their families.

Christmas in Japan is simply “associated with having a happy time,” said Dr. Akagawa.